Total pages in book: 214
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 195876 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 979(@200wpm)___ 784(@250wpm)___ 653(@300wpm)
"How many weapons are we talking about?" I ask.
"Enough to arm at least forty students," Mireen says grimly. "Maybe more."
"Brunhild has been helping us develop counter-strategies," Mireen adds. "She's surprisingly knowledgeable about fighting against armed opponents when you're unarmed. Considering we’ll have practice blades, we might as well be against their military-grade steel.."
"Is common where I come from," Brunhild shrugs. "Raiders, pirates. Must know how to fight when surprised."
"She's been showing us some techniques," Beck says, a note of admiration in his voice. "You should see her disarm someone. It's... impressive."
"I teach you tomorrow, Nessa," Brunhild tells me.
"Looking forward to it," I say, meaning it. "But why should we let them keep those weapons? We know where they are, right? What's stopping us from stealing them?"
"No," Raith says. "You're still too weak."
"I can manage."
"We only found out about this because a girl who was with Malakai wanted to join our side," Beck says. "Obviously, we didn't trust her. But then she started spilling secrets like the weapons stash."
"Then we need to ask her how the room is protected," I say. "We find a way to steal those weapons or destroy them. That's the plan."
Beck nods. "I'll ask her after we're done here. She has channeling class right now. She's an earth. Pretty, too. You should see her—"
Brunhild silences Beck with a hard smack to the back of the head. "He keeps his eyes to himself and Brunhild, or he loses them."
Beck's grin is sideways. "She's some woman, isn't she?"
"There's more," Mireen says, voice dropping lower. "Voss cornered me after Military Tactics this morning. He's asking about Nessa."
The mention of the Rector sobers me immediately. "What did he want?"
"Questions about your recovery. When you'd be ready to see him. But this time..." she hesitates, exchanging glances with Ambrose, "he specifically asked if your healing abilities had manifested again since the incident with the siphon."
A chill runs through me. "How would he know about that? And how does he know you know?"
"Exactly," Ambrose says. "We've been careful not to mention your healing around anyone but our immediate circle. The only people who know are in this room. Yet he seemed to know not only that you healed Raith, but that it might be a recurring ability."
"He was there," I remind them. "When the siphon attacked. Maybe he saw more than I realized. Or he could know the effects of void magic exposure? What if the only way Raith could've survived was with some kind of healing magic?"
"Maybe," Mireen says slowly. "But something about the way he asked felt... calculated. Like he was confirming something he already knew."
"There's that rumor going around too," Beck adds. "The one about the burned out bodies Bastian mentioned to his father. It's the first I've heard of it, but the rumor is already everywhere. People heard about the fight you guys had with the siphon, too. They just don't know it was you guys and a siphon. All they know is some serious shit went down in the west wing that left a classroom in ruins."
Mireen folds her arms and shakes her head. "Voss knows a hell of a lot about this stuff. Are you sure we can trust him?"
"No," Raith says. "We don't trust him any more than necessary."
"He saved me and Raith, though. He gave us an early tip about the Crucible. And all he's done so far when I meet with him is help with my powers. Why do that if he wants to bring us harm?"
"We shouldn't speculate without evidence," Ambrose cautions, though his expression remains troubled.
"Whatever his interest," Raith interjects, "Nessa isn't seeing him until she's at full strength. I don't care what position he holds."
"Agreed," Mireen says, surprising me with her easy alliance with Raith on this matter. Their shared concern for my welfare seems to have bridged some of the initial distrust. "You need to be at your strongest before facing him."
"Not all news is grim," Beck says, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "There was quite the scene in channeling class this afternoon when Sestra found Dain and Kali... well, channeling something, but not magic." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.
Despite everything, I find myself laughing. "In the classroom?"
"Behind the practice dummies," Beck confirms with a grin. "Sestra was so angry I thought she might drown them both on the spot."
"The look on Dain's face," Mireen adds, dissolving into giggles. "Like a fish that suddenly realized it was on land."
Even Raith's lips quirk slightly at the mental image. For a moment, the weight of siphons and Crucibles and secret weapons lifts, replaced by the simple camaraderie of friends sharing gossip. It's a precious moment of normalcy in our increasingly abnormal lives.
"Oh," Mireen says, as if just remembering. "The rumors about your absence are getting wilder by the hour, too. There's a version going around that you challenged Serena to a duel and she burnt you to ash."